BY ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

POTSDAM — The village board has approved changing the zoning classifications of several properties owned by Canton-Potsdam Hospital along Waverly, Grove and Cottage streets. The changes will help facilitate a major expansion project at the campus.

Even with a nearly full meeting hall, there was only one comment from a member of the public before the village board unanimously approved the changes at their meeting Monday, Sept. 21.

“I’ve been a member of the community for 38 years. I’m here in support of the rezoning of the hospital property. This is going to support what we need in this community,” said Sean Corbett, a registered nurse who works at the hospital.

The zoning changes approved by the board changed the zone designation for the hospital-owned properties on Grove, Cottage and Waverly streets that were H-2 to H1 and changed the following hospital-owned properties on Waverly Street from R-2 to H-1: 51, 49, 47 and 45 Waverly Street.

A public hearing held earlier this month on the then proposed change brought several community members to the village hall to voice concerns over the reclassifications, and often over the proposed hospital expansion in general. At that meeting, members of the community were concerned about expansion of the hospital campus devouring the residential neighborhood surrounding it, parking concerns, elevated traffic flow, and whether or not the hospital pays its share in taxes.

The hospital’s planned expansion will include construction of a three-story bed tower at the campus in the place of some older hospital structures there. St. Lawrence Heath president David Acker said in a conversation with North Country This Week earlier this year that the expansion will provide badly needed space at the campus, as well as modern facilities the hospital currently lacks.

At the Sept. 20 board meeting, village board members voiced support for the hospital prior to voting in favor of the zoning changes.

Trustee Alexandra Jacobs Wilke said she weighed the concerns of the public voiced at the public hearing earlier this month along with the information presented by the hospital to make her decision.

“I’ve really thought long and deep about this. I think this is a decision that we as a village board make to ask ourselves ‘What does the future of our community look like? Where do we think growth is appropriate and where would we like to allow that process to happen and in a deliberate fashion, in this case through the planning board?’” Wilke said.

Wilke said both the village zoning and planning boards reviewed the suggested zoning changes and that the changes would be in the best interest of the community.

“And as I’ve looked at it, I agree,” Wilke said. “It’s an investment in literally the lives of our community. And I think it's appropriate to have it happen in this area,” she said.

Wilke said she was confident that even though the village has not seen a final site plan for the hospital expansion, that the public will have an opportunity to weigh in on some aspects of the project which will come before the planning board for consideration.

“I too am supportive,” said Trustee Abby Lee. She said village residents who have some concerns about overflow parking and other issues should trust the hospital to be a good neighbor and work those issues out.

“It is an integral part of the community,” Lee said of the hospital.

“I think what we need to do is not to dwell on what has happened in the past, or what the past is, but we need to look forward to the future. I think this expansion will be a huge positive impact on not only the village of Potsdam, but the township of Potsdam and even the county,” said Village Mayor Ron Tischler. “It’s going to make CPH a destination.”